How to Accept Someone for Who They Are in a Relationship

One of the ways to a healthy and successful relationship is genuinely accepting your partner for who they are. However, most couples fail to recognize this fact because they are either too busy looking for perfection or too occupied focusing on their partner’s flaws.

If you’re currently facing the same challenges in your relationship, don’t worry. This article will help you figure out different ways to help you overcome them.

Here are some inspiring tips on how to learn to accept someone for who they are in a relationship.

1. Treat your partner as an actual human being.
And not just as an object to be admired and to be possessed. Accepting someone for who they are, does not mean treating them as a prize or an accessory to be displayed in front of your peers.

Treat them as a human being capable of love and care. Respect them as a person and accept them as an equal. Love them the way you want to be loved and be thankful that you have someone like them in your life.

2. Respect their beliefs and acknowledge their opinions.
You do not have to share the same opinions and subscribe to the same beliefs all the time. As unique individuals, you should be entitled to your own definition of and reaction towards the world around you.

Accepting someone for who they are means acknowledging the fact that you will always disagree on not just one but many things – and it’s okay.

3. Accept their imperfections and embrace their flaws.
But beware: there is a big difference between accepting someone’s weaknesses and forgiving a person’s abusive behavior.

The former talks about how you accept your significant other’s physical and emotional weaknesses. For instance, your partner may not be as talented as you, or they don’t really share your level of confidence when it comes to socializing. These can all be learned in time.

On the other hand, the latter talks about how someone can be emotionally and physically abusive to their significant other. Accepting these flaws means letting them hurt you because you still hope that they’ll change. This is a dangerous and toxic relationship and should not be tolerated.

4. Don’t force them to change but guide them to be better.
It’s unfair for someone to force another person to change how they live their life. After all, we are all unique individuals following different paths and being guided by different beliefs.

As a partner, you have to respect these differences. As long as you know that their decisions and their lifestyle are not hurting them, then you just have to accept them and love them for who they are. With patience and respect, they will grow up and become a better person in time.

5. Know their story and understand their motivations.
Sometimes, you’ll never understand why they do what they do. There will always be decisions that can be confusing for you and there are even moments when you start to question their own sanity just because they don’t agree with how you want things to be done. So how do you deal with it?

You have to know where they are coming from and what made them who they are. You have to know their story and respect the lessons that their life has taught them. Trust them to do the right thing not just because you love them but because you believe in them.

6. Never compare them with other people from your past.
Never ever compare them with the people you have met and loved in the past. For others, this is an ultimate deal-breaker and it is probably the most painful and hurtful thing that you’ll ever do to your partner.

Love them for who they are and don’t go looking for more. Move on from the past and accept this person in your present. If you can’t do that, then you don’t deserve their love.

7. Love them for who they are on the inside.
What made you fall in love with them in the first place? It’s not their physical appearance but it’s what’s inside them – their heart and soul, their personality, their smile and the little things that make them special.

Love is not blind. In fact, it helps people to see everything that they’ve been missing all their life: a unique and special soul who will bring genuine happiness and joy to their days.

8. Understand that their past does not define them.
Whatever they did in the past has nothing to do with your present, especially when it comes to your relationship. People change and they are allowed to be forgiven for the mistakes and the bad things that they have done years ago.

Their past may be a part of who they are but you don’t get to judge them for it. What you can do is to make them feel that you accept them for who they are now.

9. Be patient and give them time to grow.
Maturity can make a huge difference in making a relationship last, but there are couples who do not share the same level of understanding and experience especially if they have this gap in terms of age.

No matter how compatible you believe you are, sometimes the difference in maturity can affect the relationship in a bad way. Your role, as someone older and more experienced, is this: wait for them. Be patient and guide them to be the best person that they are meant to be.

10. Be proud of what they have become and show it.
Be proud of your partner for who they are and what they have become. Knowing their past, their stories and the struggles that they have bravely faced, compliment them for a job well done.

The best way of accepting someone for who they are in a relationship is to be happy about their achievements and to show the world that you are proud of them.

Remember, there is no other ideal and sweet act to show your love for someone than to tell them that they are perfect in their own imperfect way.